Plan an Independence Day Bash!
(Recipe and Craft Ideas from ParentLife July 2016)

The fourth of July is approaching! Encourage families to plan a missional and fun Independence Day Bash in their neighborhoods with these ideas from ParentLife.

TEA CAKES WITH BERRIES
Yield: 12 tea cakes

1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter
4 oz. soften cream cheese
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking power
1 egg
Whipped cream or whipped topping
Sliced strawberries or raspberries
Blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a muffin tin by spraying with cooking spray or lining with muffin papers. In a small saucepan, melt brown sugar and butter together on medium-low heat, stirring often. Once melted, turn heat to low. Add cream cheese and whisk until cream cheese is all melted and the mixture is uniform. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and apple cider vinegar. Let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, whisk flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl.

Whisk an egg and add to the cooled brown sugar mixture. Add flour mixture gradually and stir until all the flour is incorporated.

Divide batter among the muffin cups. Bake 18-24 minutes, until a tester comes out mostly clean and the tops don’t look gooey. Cool tea cakes, then spread with whipped cream and sprinkle with berries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

BALLOON “FIREWORKS”
Supplies: Balloons, confetti or glitter, funnel, hand pump

Insert a funnel into a balloon and fill the balloon about one-fourth of the way with confetti or glitter (or a mixture of both). Inflate balloons the rest of the way with a hand pump. During the party, set off the “fireworks” by either stomping on the balloons or allowing older kids to use sharpened pencils.

FESTIVE POPORN BAGS
Supplies: Red, white, and blue paper lunch sacks, scissors

For each popcorn bag, you will need one red, one white, and one blue lunch sack. Place the white inside the red and the blue inside the white. Cut slits about four inches down on each of the four top corners, then fold the top flaps down. Cut four-inch slits all around the flaps to create a ruffled, firecracker look. Fill with popcorn (or other treats).

Jessica Weaver lives in a strange neighborhood: the private high-school campus where her husband teaches. She, her husband, and their three children eat in a dining hall and live in a building with their “neighbors” — 30 high-school boys. It’s a party every day.